Archive By Section - Washington

WASHINGTON - The largest drop in wholesale prices in nearly two years in August failed to spur consumers to spend more at the shopping malls, raising new worries about a possible recession as the temporary boost from tax rebate checks becomes a distant memory.

WASHINGTON - The United States on Friday accused three members of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's inner circle of aiding Colombian rebels by supplying arms and helping drug traffickers. Washington also expelled Chavez's ambassador as a diplomatic clash intensified.

September 27, 2008|
By FOSTER KLUG and IAN JAMES
Associated Press Writer
|Washington

WASHINGTON - A Pentagon advisory group condemned the Air Force for a dramatic deterioration in managing the nation's nuclear arsenal, and recommended Friday that it consolidate nuclear responsibilities under one command.

WASHINGTON - America's trade deficit shot up in July to the highest level in 16 months as oil imports hit an all-time high, offsetting strong export growth. The deficit with China climbed to the second highest level on record.

WASHINGTON - North Korea has quietly built a long-range missile base that is larger and more capable than an older and well-known launch pad for intercontinental ballistic missiles, according to independent analysts relying on new satellite images of the site and other data. Analysts provided images of the previously secret site to The Associated Press.

WASHINGTON - Speculation by large investors - and not supply and demand for oil - were a primary reason for the surge in oil prices during the first half of the year and the more recent price declines, an independent study concluded Wednesday.

WASHINGTON - Senior officials in the Nixon administration discussed a desire to stop the newly elected government of leftist Chilean President Salvador Allende from taking power in 1970, according to recently declassified transcripts of those conversations made public Wednesday.

WASHINGTON - It's a one-two punch for many states. First, comes the expense of adding thousands of unemployed to its Medicaid rolls. Then comes the decline in revenue that stems from a struggling economy. Together, the combination has dozens of states looking for some relief, preferably from the federal government.

WASHINGTON - Western officials say there are signs that North Korea's unpredictable dictator may be gravely ill, after the man North Koreans call the ''Dear Leader'' apparently failed to show up at an important national celebration Tuesday.

WASHINGTON - Lawmakers on Tuesday castigated Veterans Administration health officials for ordering the destruction of biomedical specimens on Legionnaires' disease and other infectious diseases that two prominent researchers had collected over a quarter-century.

WASHINGTON - President Bush announced Tuesday that he will keep the U.S. force strength in Iraq largely intact until the next president takes over, drawing rebukes from Democrats who want the war ended and a bigger boost of troops in troubled Afghanistan.